


This Place is Death

by hariboo



Category: Lost
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, Zombies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-05
Updated: 2013-04-05
Packaged: 2017-12-07 13:02:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/748798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hariboo/pseuds/hariboo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Juliet finds herself off the Island, finally. Except maybe the Island is the last safe place on earth now and funny how Desmond is in the same boat as her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This Place is Death

When she blinks after the white flashes she's no longer where she used to be. No longer who she used to be, a part of her whispers, but she ignores it as she staggers to her feet. Her surroundings are nothing but sand, sun, and sky. Her body aches like she just came back from the dead and she has no choice but to move forward. Twenty minutes into her journey to anywhere she hears the sound. It's coming from behind her and it reminds her of the smoke, the unidentified gurgling and scraping. The instinct to run is there, but it's overpowered by a stronger altogether more dangerous instinct: the one of curiosity. So she turns and finds herself on her back once more. 

It's a person, maybe. It's human, possibly, but the smell is a familiar one. Death, decomposition, the doctor in her catalogues quickly even as she tries to push the body away. Her arms are crossed above her face pushing the mangled face away. Her legs trying to get purchase on the sand.She's only catching glimpses as it tries to overpower her, but as she fights she's encountering arms, legs, a torso and the smell of rotting flesh. It's human, that's no longer a question, but the desperation it moves with. The way it's trying to bite her and claw at her is anything but. 

The shot rings out like firework too close to her ear and suddenly there's no more movement from the body she's fighting off. It slumps over her like deflated balloon and she shoves it off her. 

Catching her breath and trying to expel the smell from her nostrils she looks up at who took the shot. The semi-hysterical laugh that escapes her is ill timed and too appropriate for the situation. Out of everyone it doesn't surprise her that it's him that finds her in the middle of the desert. It should surprise her, and it would have once upon a time, but everything that's she's lived through that she's survived has changed her from a person easily surprised. Most of his face is blocked out by the sun and his hair is handing down causing dark shadows to creep over his features. There is no humour in his voice when he speaks to her.

"Well, you did want to get off the godforsaken place." He drops the rifle that he was pointing at her and rests it against his shoulder, offering her a hand. 

She takes it. Something tells her friends and allies will be few to far between in the world now. It's warm and calloused like it can feel it in the tension in his forearm--he's been alone for a while now. She doesn't understand how she knows this but there's a lot about this man she knows without understanding how. Together they haul her up and her muscle burn al the way. Her feet feel unsteady on the sand, but she doesn't fall again and he doesn't help steady her either. She still has blood on her pants from the back splatter that his shot caused. To be fair she has blood on most of her clothes. The person, if you could even call whoever attacked he, lays decomposing further on the sand not two feet away from her. In her old life this would surprise her. It's amazing what can happen and how much a person can evolve in three years.

"I wish I could say the world is in better shape. You okay? It didn't bite you, did it?" 

She nods, "I'm fine. Got an extra gun?" 

Desmond smiles and reaches behind him, pulling a simple 9mm from the small of his back, handing it over to Juliet, "Welcome back to the real world." 

-

The real world has gone to hell, back, and back again. They're in Tunisia, Desmond tells her. He's been waiting by the exit for a few days. He hadn't know it was going to be her that would come out except he tells her he's not surprised. What he means by that she's not sure, but she wasn't surprised to see him either. She wonders if they're going to wait for anyone else and he tells he no. One word that means that no one else is coming in behind her. He leads her to his car, it's an old jeep that looks like it's survived more than few battles and looking at Desmond she wonders how many of these battles of those were Desmond's. It's open aired and as they drive through the desert the wind blows sand into her hair and skin. Desmond hands over a bottle of water and Juliet tips it to her chapped lips. She had been in desert for the better part of a day when she came upon the base, the zombies, and Desmond.

He fills her in as he drives the worn down jeep and tells her she can have her pick of artillery. She laughs, a dry sound, but she doesn't drink anymore water. He didn't say anything, but she can tell, it's not the commodity it once was. 

When she asks where they're going, he sighs, "To see my father in law." 

Juliet knows enough about Desmond not to ask anymore questions, plus she know Charles Widmore lives in London. She ties her hair up in a messy knot and nods, the sun burns her eyes. She tries not to think about James.

-

They find the port city Desmond arrived to in ruins, fires burning in windows and smell of flesh burning. Desmond knows how to move through the city, avoiding making sounds, keeping to the shadows. She finds a new pair of shoes. Boots with heavy soles that are a little too tight, but they are better than the lightweight sneakers she's had on. 

"Where are we heading to now?" She checks her gun and tucks a knife into the boots. She hasn't really asked Desmond much about his plans, but since she's fairly sure they are centred about getting out of this alive, she okay following his lead for the moment. He hasn't talked about much. Hasn't mentioned his wife, and Juliet checks herself every time she gets close to asking. Maybe it's the dark shadows around his eyes that keep her from asking, maybe she's just doesn't want to know the answer. 

"How do you feel about sailing?" He's two steps ahead of her and looks over his shoulder when he asks. For a second the play of sun and shadows from the building makes him look younger and more carefree than she ever suspects he's ever really been. 

She quirks an eyebrow, "Haven't sunk a boat yet." 

He laughs, "Good to know, doc." There's a flash of hurt at the nickname she pushes back down. Swinging the strap of his rifle over his shoulder he nods towards the left, signalling it's time to go and leave the alleys.

Juliet grabs her shot gun. 

"When I came in the harbour was infested," he warns as they move. Just great.

-

She's out of shotgun shells and she doesn't have time to dig around in her backpack or switch weapons. Desmond is yelling at her which boat is his as he covers her. They have a good head start but the former residents of the city are closing in. 

Jumping onto the boat, she leverages herself on the side and grabs the Winchester she took from the back of Desmond's jeep a week ago. She takes aim and the bullet flies past Desmond left shoulder and hits its mark. It gives Desmond enough cover to turn and run towards the boat without having to look behind him every two‑seconds and as he reaches the dock he yells out to her. 

"There are grenades in the box behind you!" He rushes down the dock and Juliet shoots off one more shot before turning. 

Wrapping her hand around one of the small metal sphere, she doesn't think twice as she turns back and tosses it as far as she can. It sails over Desmond's head and suddenly there's a flash of light too bright and familiar but not the same.

She blinks. Desmond is scrambling onto the boat, cutting ropes, and steering them out. The dock behind them is intact but the horde is stumbling backwards. 

"Those are some crappy grenades you have, Desmond." 

He grins as he signals to move towards the main sail, "I believe that was a flash bomb." 

Juliet frowns, "Oh. Crap."

"Got the job done. That's all that matters." 

-

They sail through the Mediterranean, sticking to the Algerian and Moroccan coast. They pass the Strait of Gibraltar and sail close enough to the city to smell the fires. Desmond has enough foodstuffs to last them a while but once they near the Bay of Biscay they have to risk a stop at the edge of the Spanish coast. The town they dock by is empty and rotting but they find some unexpired cans of food left in the small market they find. They stock up on as much as possible because once they leave this town it's a straight line to London. No stops, only the ocean and sky. She can feel Desmond's anxiousness to get back to Britain and while she doesn't ask she knows who he's expecting to find. 

-

He tells her about his son half way on their journey. Sitting by the helm, he's wrapped in thick wool jumper as the nights get colder and she's sitting behind him, arms wrapped around her legs. The wind is blowing strands of hair across her face and she listens telling her how his son was born on this boat in the South Pacific. 

She smiles and wonders if she'll ever touch a baby that doesn't die. 

-

London is a ghost town. The cliche grey overcast it's known for has permeated its streets and covers every building in its drab shade. They sailed up the Thames and docked in the early morning. They walk through the city like spectres and she doesn't ask where they're going just trusts that wherever Desmond's compass is pointing him to is safe and has some food. They've been rationing for the past week and Desmond, who always looked a little gaunt before, is thin and pale. The hollows of his cheekbones sharp under his skin. 

She doesn't look in the ship's mirror much these days but she knows her how own bones jut out too visibly under her skin.

They walk across the city and he mutters locations they've passed like a surly guide: the London Eye, white and gleaming, ever watchful of the dead city; Parliament, Big Ben, Green Park, Hyde Park, and then they turn into smaller and smaller streets that make her feel nervous. 

She's never been to London before and she never wants return.

The Island was green, it's branches filled with whispers. This city is grey, it's streets filled with the memory of death.

-

Their destination is a house near the Hyde Park Corner. It looks abandoned but Desmond's shoulders relax when he sees it. She tenses up and pulls her rifle closer to her. 

He pauses at the door, laying his palm flat against the wood and sighs, "Come on, we should head inside."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" She steps forwards and looks back at the street that looks empty and feels too crowds with ghosts.

His lips curl and he turns the knob, "Sure as I'll ever be." 

Together they walk inside and she eyes him as he moves across the rooms like he's heading somewhere within the house. Once they're in the kitchen he moves towards the pantry and pushes it open. He moves towards the back wall and when he bends to open some sort of... 

Hatch.

A hatch. Suddenly she has to laugh. 

Desmond looks back at her and raises an eyebrow, "Are you okay?" 

"Yes, fine, just thought of something funny," she covers her mouth, nodding, and waving him forward. 

He goes back to opening the hatch, "Care you share?"

"No, I don't think you'd think it's as funny." 

He gives her another look and gets the hatch open and they head now. 

-

Charles Widmore was a obsessed and secretive man. As they move down the hatch to the underground bunker, Juliet has never been more grateful for the fact. They walk a dark hallway with thin fluorescent lights guiding them and then they get to a door.

He knocks, his knuckles rap against the metal and she can barely hear the sounds on the other side of it. Soft, vague sounds of feet moving and voices. The panel on the door slides open and she sees a pair of blue eyes. She hears some curse and laugh and then metal is being moved. 

The door open and Desmond's arms are full of Penny.

Juliet recognises her from the picture Desmond keeps on the boat and because there's no else in Desmond's life that he would have crossed hell for. 

"Daddy!" 

A small head full of yellow curls suddenly appears behind Penny and a little boy pushes his way through to wrap his small arms around Desmond's legs. 

She was wrong, she knows, as she looks at the child. 

This is who Desmond crossed wastelands for.

-

It's not only Penny and Charlie in the bunker. After she's ushered through and the door clangs shuts behind them, she eyes the room and see the other occupants. The man is Charles Widmore. He's old, older than she thought he be and a woman, who smiles slyly at Juliet. 

Penny and Desmond introduce her as Eloise Hawkings. 

Juliet gets introduced even though it seems they both already seems to know who she is. 

Eloise Hawkings' name feels like it should be familiar, like a memory she should have, but there's no recollection in Juliet's mind, even as the woman leads her forward to a sitting area.

While Desmond takes a moment to spend with his family in small corner of the spacious bunker, Juliet drops down on one of the chairs as Charles Widmore offers her tea. She almost says no, because she's not thirsty. But she's cold and she shouldn't turn down any form of sustenance. She doesn't know how long they're planning to stay, but she knows that this isn't their final port. There another destination. A final place of rest and she knows, looking back to where Desmond has a lap full of Charlie and Penny's fingers are brushing against his jaw, that coming here was for them. A pick up. 

Looking back down at her feet, she forces herself to relax and breathe. 

"Here you go, love." 

Juliet looks up to see the woman set a delicate tea cup on the small coffee table. Behind her, Charles Widmore hobbles, leaning heavily on a cane, to an arm chair across from them. She smiles politely, but she's so out of her depth she has no clue to say. _Thank you_ seems a lie, but they're the only words that she has. 

Eloise smiles and settles down on another chair, her own tea cup in her hands. She takes a sip and looks over to Juliet. 

"Desmond got lucky finding you." She looks over to Widmore who sighs, his weight falling back on the leather.

Juliet looks between them, frowning as she picks up her tea. "Why do you say that?"

There's a movement in Eloise's shoulders that not quiet a shrug, "Because my dear, what you two have survived is very unique. It will make the finding your way back much easier."

Her mouth feels dry as Eloise says those words so Juliet takes a deep drink of the tea not caring about the heat as it burns down her throat. It's either the heat or letting the sob that's suck there out.

Widmore mumbles something that Juliet doesn't catch and Eloise purses her lips, looks at Juliet and takes another drink from her tea. 

"But we'll get to that tomorrow. You two need your rest."

Behind her she hears Desmond laugh at something his sons say and Juliet agrees. 

Tomorrow is fine.

-

The bunker is nicely sized. There are three rooms: two bedrooms, one living area and small bathroom. She's given the old couch in the living room and that's fine with her. It's more than okay and the sofa is comfortable enough. The fact she can't sleep isn't because of her accommodations. It's memories, it's memories from dreams. Flashes of white light, her hand on a rock, the dock, her kitchen and Ben standing across from her with the keys to her freedom. Keys he would never give her. Memories of a plane breaking apart in mid air and knowing that everything in that moment change. There's before the island and there's after the island and then there's during. The before is now gone and now she's after. During was the test, the hardest part of it and she thought the after would be her reward, but it only seems to be another test because the world she returned to is no reward. 

-

Breakfast is toast and beans. Charlie has cereal with powdered milk mixed with water and it makes her wonder just how long they've lived like this. Widmore doesn't talk much and Penny fills the silence with polite questions. Juliet watches as Penny is in the middle of asking Juliet about her old life in Miami and just leans over to wipe Charlie's chin where some milk has escaped his mother without even pausing. 

Her gut clenches with images of Rachel as she answers. 

Eloise hasn't yet exited her room and Desmond is still sleeping. 

She wants to wake them, she wants to tell Eloise to just tell her what's next because she can't stand it. This feeling eating away in her gut that tells her sister is dead.

-

Be careful what you wish for. It's what all the movies say.

It's at eleven o'clock when Eloise calls her and Desmond over from where they're indulging Charlie with watching some animated film. She looks over her shoulder at Desmond who looks down at his son, combing his fingers through the blonde curls. Penny shifts Charlie and covers Desmond's knee with her hand. Not a moment later Desmond's hand covers his wife's. Then he stands and Juliet is already moving towards where Eloise is at the table she ate breakfast at only hours ago.

She has a maps covering the table like makeshift table cloths and there's lines and equations scribbled over them. Juliet is reminded of Daniel's notes and looks over at Desmond. 

(Desmond was Daniel's constant.

She's always wondered who hers would be. She would like to think it was James, but there another name that her mind whispers and she hates it. There's another name after that one and she hopes that's the true one.)

"So, what's this about?" Desmond asks, frowning at the maps and circles and lines that cover them. 

Eloise smiles, "This, my dear boy, is your way back."

Be care what you wish for, it's what the movies say. Juliet had dreamed of leaving the Island for years, and now…

"How?" She swallows when Eloise looks at her, lips curling. 

This all feels too final.

There's no coming back this time around.

-

It has to do with quantum mechanics, time, and space. It has to do with recreating circumstances and they don't have a plane but Desmond has a boat and a long time ago he crashed the same boat on the island. She got there by sea as well anyway. Ideally Guam would be the best place to get back from but geography is not on their side. 

They're going to have to be creative. 

Eloise smiles then and repeats what she told Juliet the day before.

Desmond was very fortunate to find her in the middle of the desert. 

What other two people have survived a high intensity electromagnetic blast? What two other people have been transporter through space and time? 

She gives Desmond the coordinates he's going to have to keep to and Juliet chooses that moment to excuse herself to the restroom. In the small room she leans on the sink and looks at herself in the mirror. The lightning makes her looks like ghost and maybe she is. She's felt dead since she woke up in the Tunisian heat, but the ache in her chest is too real. 

Not to mention, what kind of heaven would this be?

-

When it comes down to planning their way out of London they all sit, crowding the small table, elbows bumping. Juliet sits on Desmond's right side and if she leaned back she could see how his left arm extends over Penny's shoulder, fingers tangled in the ends of her hair. 

Charlie is behind them, seated in front of the small television, a DVD playing quietly in the background. The sounds of musical notes as animated characters sing barely reaches where they sit and makes her wonder how Charlie sees this world: cartoons and his parents surrounding him. Not a bad life, Juliet thinks bitterly.

Getting back to the boat is the big issue. None of them mention it out loud but they all look at Charles Widmore with his cane and the limp he can't really hide. They talk around it. They discuss the most direct route from the house to the boat. The city was quiet when Desmond and Juliet walked through it, but they had their guns, their health, and most importantly they've lived in a place where survival is a trade. Eloise and Charles map out the smartest route and Penny assures them that she and Charile will be fine as she grips Desmond's hand. 

Juliet follows Penny's gaze to Charlie, still entertained by the small television, and doesn't question the woman. She seen that look in someone's eyes before. It was Rachel when she looked at Juliet and told her that to get pregnant. It's fierce determination. There's no question in Juliet's mind about Penny and Charlie getting to the boat. 

Still, it's close to a three mile walk through the winding streets of London with a young child. Juliet knows that none of them want to take any chances. It's the only reason she says the next words. 

"We could always use a car."

It's a dangerous idea. The sound attracts the walkers, but it'd be one way to load up more supplies and she looks at Charles Widmore tapping his fingers against his cane. 

He meets Juliet's eyes, "If you're suggesting this for my sake, then I'm sorry to disappoint you but I will not be accompanying you, Dr. Burke."

"Father!" Penny exclaims. "You can't be serious."

Widmore looks at his daughter, his eyes drop at her and Desmond's joined hands, "I am very serious, Penelope. In my current condition I am nothing but a hinderance to you and your family. It is best I stay behind." 

"You can't. I won't leave you alone here."

"He will not be alone," Eloise says and Juliet has to admit, the woman knows how to bury the lead.

-

She tries not to be jealous of Penny and Desmond but it's a hard thing. She sees the looks, the absent minded touches they give each other as to assure themselves of the other's presence. She sees them with Charlie, pulling the young boy into their arms, their laps; she sees them being a family and she feels _other_. Always an other, that voice in her head whispers, always on the outside. 

"Can't sleep?" she hears and props herself up on the couch to see Desmond leaning by the far corner of the room where the door to his, Penny, and Charlie's room leads. He looks tired, but there is an awareness in his eyes. Even under the city where the dead are walking, where they've been relatively safe for almost two weeks he does not stop listening. Juliet wonders how much of they is left over from his time down in the Hatch. 108 minutes does not allow much time for rest. 

She doesn't answer, but sits up. She has her own question. "How much do you sleep now?" 

His mouth turns and he makes his way towards the kitchen getting the ingredients for tea. Without asking he pulls out two mugs. Juliet nods her head in thanks and sits at the table. He prepares the tea in silence and hands her a mug when he's done. There's powered milk and little sugar in Widmore's supplies but neither Juliet or Desmond add anything to their teas. They tend to leave that stuff for Charlie who likes watching cereal with the many movies they distract him with. 

"I used to only be able to sleep for only one hour, after, my body woud just wake up," Desmond says, swirling the spoon in his tea for no reason Juliet can see. The action adds a level of normalcy she knows they longer have; maybe it's an old habit, from when he used to put milk or sugar in his tea. 

"Old habits." 

Desmond smiles, a quirk of his mouth really, before taking a sip of his tea. "I got up to four hours once I left, but lately it's back to one or two."

Juliet lifts the tea to her lips. It's strong, the smell oddly comforting. "I doubt this helps."

"Old habits, love." 

Rolling her eyes, Juliet huffs a little laugh. "It's good."

"I had a long time to perfect it."

"You did." Running her finger across the curved handle of the blue Union jack printed mug, Juliet raises her eyebrows and meets Desmond's eyes. "We should leave tomorrow."

He sighs and looks to the doorway that holds his family. Juliet looks away, giving him his moment. The shelves of the bunker aren't bare but there's less food than there was when they arrived. Tomorrow they're taking half in accordance to the plan. Nobody wants to think what that means for Charles who can barely move and Eloise who won't leave him.   
"I'll wake them in a few hours. Better to move during the day, get all the light we can." 

Desmond must have been a good soldier, Juliet thinks. She nods and they finish their teas in silence.

-

Goodbyes are hard. Juliet is selfishly glad these don't really involve her. She picks up Charlie as Penny hugs her father and Desmond shakes his hand, sharp and quick. Eloise gives them all kisses on their cheeks and hands out her calculations and maps. 

As they the bunker - another hatch, this one spitting her back towards the Island - she takes point. Penny has Charlie now. Desmond brings up the rear. If any of them look back Juliet does not know. She's got her eyes to the front, gun in hand, pack filled with food and papers. Any remaining good-byes are not hers. 

When they reach the end of the street Desmond and her switch places. He knows the city well, he knows how to leave it, having it done often enough. This time Juliet suspects is unlike the other times as she watches him turn back and look at Penny and Charlie every few minutes as if to make sure they're still there. 

The day is looking to be sunny and Juliet only hopes for the best in their three mile walk.

\- 

Charlie will have nightmares for months, but Juliet can't think about that as she shoots at the walker that almost took a bite of his mother. He's crying in Desmond's arm as they run towards the dock and Penny is swinging a piece of pipe at any of the other walkers getting near her and Juliet. 

Penny almost doesn't make it.

They're lucky that when Juliet started learning to shoot she ended up being a great shot.

‑

The wind is cold and it’s her and Desmond on watch for the night. The horizon is blurry in the darkening night and they lost sight of land about a week ago. 

They’ve been following Eloise’s trajectory closely and each day they get closer to the point she said would be their way in she and Desmond get tenser. Penny has noticed, Charlie hasn’t. Charlie happily settles in Juliet’s lap and asks for stories when Penny pulls Desmond away to smooth out the furrow that appears on his brow. Juliet tries not to think of Julien when Charlie smiles up at her, all blonde curls and dimples. 

Right now, he’s below. Bedtime. 

Juliet can hear Penny reading to Charlie down below and Desmond has his eye on the sea, wary and defeated. The island is on both their minds. It was the last place they ever wanted to be, the one place they hoped to escape, and now as she looks at it on the horizon it's the safest place on earth. 

The wind changes and Juliet tugs the borrowed sweater tighter around her as she stands and adjusts their heading. Desmond deals with the sails and in the darkening night they watch the ocean. 

It’s the safest place and Juliet thinks they both kind of hate it. 

-

The waves catch them off guard. So does the flash. 

When she first went to the Island she was on a sub and she had been drugged for a lot of it. She doesn’t remember if anything flashed, not underwater, but she’s heard the details of flight 815. Desmond’s never told her his story, but she knows he crashed onto the Island.

Penny is clutching Charlie to her and Desmond is yelling at them to hold on.

Juliet hoods her eyes but doesn’t close them. The flashing still burns her retinas but it feels familiar. Those days of hopping across time and the ache in her head after each time. Her head doesn’t ache this time and she’s pretty sure that means they’re not time travelling, she’s not sure what she would do if she had be go back again. It was too much the first time. 

In the white burn of the flash she remembers her bloody hands and James’ face. 

She remembers being young and almost drowning in a pool. 

She didn’t. She lived once, twice, and--

The water settles around the ship again and--

Familiar mountains rise on the horizon. She chokes on her laughter. Being her she can hear Desmond as he pulls Penny and Charlie close to him. 

She stands and looks over to them. 

Desmond meets hers eyes. They’re not bright with hope like Penny’s are. 

She nods. 

\- 

They dock the boat to the Dharma pier and Juliet’s pretty sure they didn’t skip time. House empty the site looks only affirms that. Penny’s got Charlie, his little hand tight in hers, and Juliet and Desmond have the guns. They both left the Island whole, full of friends, full of enemies, but with the world has gone to hell and who know what’s happened here. 

She settles Penny and Charlie in her old house and she and Desmond go out. 

Looking for others, he says. 

Recon, Juliet hears. 

They have their shotguns tight at their sides. 

-

The jungle is still thick and green and smells like wet even though it hasn’t rained. The sky is blue and cloudless overhead and Juliet thinks of the cities she and Desmond had to raid for supplies, of London. They seemed sucked dry; pried open and husked out of everything in them that breathed life. The Island stands as lush as ever, vibrating with it’s strange energy. The same energy that changed something in Desmond and Juliet that allows them to be connected to the marrow of this place. 

She’s about to tell Desmond they should head back for the day when they hear the rustling. Penny’s never been here before and the Dharma camp felt almost ghost like. When Juliet left, however long ago that way, she’s not sure who was living there, if anyone was. Jack’s people preferred the beach, and the Temple was only for Others, tucked deep in the shadows of the jungle. She’s never been but Ben once explained how to get there. So did Eloise.

The rustling comes from the left. Juliet and Desmond turn in unison, guns held high. They wait a beat, eyeing each other, and then the sounds come again. 

Desmond nods and she calls out, ‘Who’s there? Come out!’

It sounds like someone is ripping through the trees then, but it’s not the sound of the smoke, just someone running. 

The green of the jungle parts and Juliet sucks in a breathe. 

"Blondie?"

"Holy shit. Are you a zombie?"

James’ face is dirty and his lip is cut and Miles is with him. They look like hell. His eyes roam her face like he’s never expected to see her again, and yeah, she knows the feeling. Desmond lowers his gun first with relieved greeting. Juliet is slower at it, her fingers feel heavy. Miles question registers but she doesn’t have time for it or the irony of it right now. Not with James’ eyes boring into hers.

He starts to take a step forward but then holds himself. Juliet swallows.

"Hey, James."

"I thought you were gone." There’s a million questions tucked into those five words and Juliet hears all of them.

Juliet shrugs, she doesn’t know half the answers of his questions, but she knows one. 

"Looks like I came back."

**Author's Note:**

> This has been in my WIPs for too long and it was time to just slap on a ending and get it out.


End file.
